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DECREE No

DECREE No. 18/2002/ND-CP OF FEBRUARY 18, 2002 PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON MANAGEMENT OF MATERIAL-EVIDENCE STOREHOUSES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 29,1988 Criminal Procedures Code, which was amended and supplemented by the Laws Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Criminal Procedures Code, passed by the National Assembly on June 30, 1990; December 22, 1992; and June 9, 2000;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Civil Cases of December 7, 1989; the Ordinance on Execution of Civil Judgments of April 26, 1993; the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Economic Cases of March 29, 1994; the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Labor Disputes of April 20, 1996; the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Administrative Cases of June 3, 1996 and the December 25, 1998 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Procedures for Settlement of Administrative Cases;

At the proposals of the Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Justice,

DECREES:

Article 1.- Hereby to promulgate together with this Decree the "Regulation on Management of Material- Evidences Storehouses."

Article 2.- This Decree takes implementation effect 15 days after its signing. The previous stipulations contrary to the Regulation promulgated together with this Decree shall all be annulled.

Article 3.- The Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Justice shall, within the scope of their respective tasks and powers, monitor, inspect and urge the implementation of this Decree.

Article 4.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI

REGULATION ON MANAGEMENT OF MATERIAL-EVIDENCE STOREHOUSES

(Promulgated together with the Government�s Decree No. 18/2002/ND-CP of February 18, 2002)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Regulation prescribes the management, delivery, reception, storage and preservation in the material-evidence storehouses of material evidences and other objects and documents gathered from criminal, civil, economic, administrative, labor, marriage and family cases (hereinafter called cases for short), aiming to service the investigation, prosecution, trial and judgment execution.

Article 2.-

1. Material-evidence storehouses are places where material evidences, objects and other documents of cases, gathered in the process of legal proceedings against such cases are stored and preserved, which are constructed and managed according to the provisions of law and of this Regulation.

2. The material-evidence storehouses must be safe, dry, airy, equipped with proper necessary devices; are strictly managed, rationally arranged to avoid misplacement, losses, damage, environmental pollution or harms to the property of the State, organizations and individuals as well as human lives and health; to facilitate the warehousing, ex-warehousing, preservation of material evidences, objects and other documents in storehouses and to effectively service the work of investigation, prosecution, trial and judgment execution.

Article 3.-

1. The material-evidence storehouses are places where the material evidences, objects and other documents gathered from cases are received, managed and preserved in order to service the work of investigation, prosecution, trial and/or judgment execution, which are handed over by legal proceedings bodies of the same level or superior level or other agencies tasked to conduct a number of investigation activities.

2. The management of material-evidence store-houses must comply with the relevant law provisions; all acts of infringing upon or causing loss or damage, reduction or loss of value or use value or testifying value of material evidences, objects and/or other documents gathered from cases are strictly prohibited.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION OF MATERIAL-EVIDENCE STOREHOUSES

Article 4.-

1. Each police office of the rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals or cities, provinces and centrally-run cities and the Ministry of Public Security may organize a material-evidence storehouse to serve the work of investigation and prosecution concerning criminal cases.

2. The Minister of Public Security shall decide the establishment and specify the internal rules of the material-evidence storehouses within the people�s police force.

Article 5.-

1. Each military region (and equivalent level) and the Ministry of Defense may organize a material-evidence storehouse to serve the work of investigation and prosecution concerning criminal cases and a material-evidence storehouse to serve the work of adjudication and execution of criminal judgments according to competence in the people�s army.

2. The Minister of Defense shall decide the establishment and specify the internal rules of the material-evidence storehouses in the people�s army.

Article 6.-

1. Each judgment execution team of the rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and provincial towns and each judgment execution section of the provinces and centrally-run cities may organize a material-evidence storehouse to serve the work of adjudication and judgment execution.

2. The Minister of Justice shall decide the establishment and specify the internal rules of material-evidence storehouses of the judgment execution bodies prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter III

THE MATERIAL-EVIDENCE STOREHOUSE MANAGEMENT REGIME

Article 7.-

1. The material-evidence storehouse keepers shall have the following tasks and powers:

a) To organize the management and preservation of material evidences and other objects as well as documents in the storehouses according to the provisions of law;

b) To effect the warehousing and ex-warehousing of material evidences and other objects as well as documents, which have been gathered from various cases, on the order of the heads of the agencies which accept and process the cases;

c) Upon the detection that material evidences, objects, other documents in the storehouses are lost, infringed upon, appropriated or damaged, to immediately report thereon to the agencies which manage the material-evidence storehouses and to witness the inspection of the scenes by competent bodies;

d) To propose the heads of the agencies managing the material-evidence storehouses to repair, expand, upgrade and provide necessary equipment for, the material-evidence storehouses.

2. The heads of the agencies managing the material-evidence storehouses shall have the following tasks and powers:

a) To monitor, examine, supervise and manage the operations of the material-evidence storehouses;

b) To assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned agencies and units in organizing the emergency transfer of material evidences, objects and other documents in the storehouses to safe places in case of natural or human threats against the safety of material-evidence storehouses;

c) To request local authorities, people�s armed forces to provide support in protecting the material-evidence storehouses in case of necessity;

d) To immediately notify the investigating bodies and the procuracies of the same level of the cases where material evidences, objects and other documents in the storehouses are lost, infringed upon or appropriated.

e) To determine the cause of damage of material evidences, objects or other documents in the storehouses and report such in writing to the agencies which accept and process the cases;

f) To request the relevant agencies to guide and provide human and professional support for the protection of material evidences, objects and specialized documents;

g) To request the agencies which accept and process the cases to immediately handle the material evidences, objects and/or other documents in the storehouses, which show signs or are in danger of degeneration or threaten the safety of the material-evidence storehouses, environment, human lives and property.

3. The material-evidence storehouse keepers must be trained in necessary professional skills and have good moral qualities.

4. The material-evidence storehouse officials and employees are entitled to enjoy the regimes and policies under the general regulations of the State and of their own service.

Article 8.-

1. All material evidences, objects and other documents, which have been gathered from various cases, must be stored and preserved at the material-evidence storehouses, except the following cases:

a) Objects cannot be moved into the material-evidence storehouses, and have already been handed over to responsible agencies, organizations or persons for preservation under the provisions of law;

b) Documents (such as papers, pictures, photos�) are in small numbers, have already been included in the case dossiers and handed over to officials who have accepted and processed the cases for management according to the regulations on dossier work;

c) The objects have been already delivered to the case- processing agencies for management during the time they are used in service of the work of investigation, prosecution and adjudication;

d) Objects are cash, gold, silver, precious metals, gems, antiques, weapons, explosives, inflammables, toxic substances, radioactive substances, animals, plants, which are transferred to specialized agencies for preservation;

e) Objects are of the categories which are easy to decay and cannot be preserved for long at the material-evidence storehouses (such as food, raw and fresh foodstuffs, pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical materials�), being handed over to functional bodies for auctions under the provisions of law.

2. Where due to objective conditions the objects defined at Points d and e of Clause 1, this Article, cannot be transferred immediately, they must be temporarily put into the material-evidence storehouses for preservation; after those objective conditions are removed, they must be transferred immediately.

Article 9.-

1. When wishing to warehouse or ex-warehouse the material-evidences, objects and/or other documents, which have been gathered from various cases, for service of legal proceedings or for transfer to other material-evidence storehouses, the heads of the agencies processing the cases must issue the warehousing or ex-warehousing orders. The warehousing or ex-warehousing orders must clearly state the categories, quantity, weight and characteristics of the material evidences, objects and/or other documents, which need to be warehoused or ex-warehoused, the warehousing or ex-warehousing reasons and time; the full names and titles of the persons who deliver or receive the warehousing or ex-warehousing orders, which must be signed and sealed by the heads of the agencies accepting and processing the cases.

2. When delivering or receiving material evidences, objects and/or other documents at the material-evidence storehouses, the deliverers or receivers must produce the warehousing or ex-warehousing orders and personal papers. The material-evidence storehouse keepers shall make the warehousing or ex-warehousing only when all papers are presented.

3. The agencies which are processing the cases shall have to organize the transportation, preservation and protection of gathered material evidences, objects and/or other documents of cases, when they are transported from one material-evidence storehouse to another material-evidence storehouse or when they are in the process of being used directly in service of investigation, prosecution, trial and judgment execution.

Article 10.-

1. The material-evidence storehouse officials and employees have the responsibility to be willingly receive or transfer material evidences and other objects as well as documents of cases in order to serve in time the investigation, prosecution, trial and/or judgement execution.

2. When warehousing or ex-warehousing material evidences and other objects as well as documents gathered from cases on competent persons� orders, the material-evidence storehouse keepers shall have to:

a) Check to warehousing or ex-warehousing orders and other necessary procedures as well as papers of the deliverers or receivers;

b) Weigh, measure, count, calculate and inspect the conditions and characteristics of gathered material evidences, other objects and documents and the seals (if any);

c) Fully record in the storehouse books and make the warehousing or ex-warehousing bills, inscribing clearly the warehousing or ex-warehousing hours, day, month and year; full names and titles of persons who issue the warehousing or ex-warehousing orders and of the deliverers and recipients; the warehousing and ex-warehousing reasons; the categories, quantity, weight, characteristics and conditions of the case material evidences, objects and documents, their lawful owners and managers. An warehousing or ex-warehousing bill shall be made in two copies signed by both the deliverer and the recipient and each party keeps one copy;

d) Make records on warehoused or ex-warehoused material evidences, objects and/or other documents, which are damaged, deficit or have their seals infringed upon, and notify the material-evidence storehouse- managing agencies thereof. A record shall be made in two copies signed by the deliverer and the recipient; and each party keeps one copy.

Article 11.-

1. The storage and preservation of material evidences, objects and other documents in material-evidence storehouses must strictly comply with the technical process under the prescribed principles and norms; the labeling thereof must be effected in order to avoid mistakes and to create conditions for the inspection and supervision.

Annually on June 25 and December 25, the material-evidence storehouse keepers must inventory their storehouses and make inventory reports to be sent to the material-evidence managing agencies.

Article 12.- The funds for management, construction, repair, expansion and upgrading of material-evidence storehouses, for the procurement of equipment and facilities, the cost of preservation, transportation, delivery and reception of material evidences, objects and other documents of cases in the material-evidence storehouses shall be provided by the State budget and included in the annual State budget estimates assigned to the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People�s Procuracy. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People�s Procuracy in inspecting and urging the implementation of this stipulation.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13.-

1. Those who violate this Regulation shall be disciplined, administratively handled or examined for penal liability, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations; if causing damage, they must pay compensations therefor according to law provisions.

2. Those who record achievements in observing this Regulation shall be commended and/or rewarded according to law provisions.

Article 14.- The presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to allocate land and create favorable conditions for the construction and management of material-evidence storehouses in their respective localities, and direct the concerned agencies in their localities to coordinate in ensuring security and safety for the material-evidence storehouses.

Article 15.- The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to organize the implementation of this Regulation.

On behalf of the Government

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI